No patient data was lost at Manhattan VA facility

The back-up system for electronic health records worked.

The Veterans Affairs Department backed up electronic health record data from its now flooded and closed Manhattan hospital before Hurricane Sandy hit, spokeswoman Jo Schuda told me.

The Manhattan hospital evacuated patients on Sunday, Oct. 28, the day before Sandy hit and Schuda said the department’s IT staff worked over the weekend to back up records a two nearby data centers unaffected by the storm and which she did not identify.

Since VA networks provide electronic access to patient records anywhere in its system, VA clinicians should be able to get medical information on Manhattan vets wherever they show up for treatment.

Good work.